Feedback Strategies

I already feel pretty comfortable giving and receiving feedback as a big part of being a performer is being able to receive and incorporate criticisms. A lot of people have an stigmatized fear of giving and receiving criticism because the word has become synonymous to "attack."  The reality is, you have to care much more for a person and pay much closer attention to them in order to give constructive criticism. I found the article Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback particularly interesting because of the concept of giving suggestions to improve in the future as opposed to just outlining what wasn't up to par. With this method, rather than making people dwell on what has already been and can't be changed, the focus is on striving to be better. The Difference Between Praise and Feedback highlighted an issue that I hadn't previously considered, undeserved praise. While encouragement is key to growth, telling someone they did a "good job" before they truly have can allow people to settle for less than their best. By praising the process and using growth mindset to motivate peers to keep striving instead of accepting good enough, we can incorporate criticism into feedback in a more positive way.

Feedback does nothing if you cant incorporate it! Here are some good questions to ask after feedback.